Raise the Stakes
by Moondance.17
Summary: Next chapter finally up after my little hiatus. "Try...fail. Try again...and fail better."
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Again?!" That single word reverberated throughout the glass and marble halls and offices of the Royal & General Bank, also known as the headquarters of MI6 Special Operations Division.

Employees who had previously been working contently looked up at the sound of the muffled shout.

Standing up, obviously angered, was a boy of around fifteen or sixteen years of age. He appeared strong and athletic; his well moulded muscles could be seen slightly from beneath the sleeves of his casual t-shirt which fitted his form adequately.

He measured in at around six foot, give or take and inch, and had sandy brown hair which appeared to have been highlighted with blonde, it was short to medium in length and thickly spiked at a slight angle to the side. He had lightly tanned skin which contrasted against a pair of electric tanzanite blue eyes.

His eyes appeared to have seen too much for his age, too much hurt and devastation. They seemed to keep memories of events a teenage boy should not have had to have gone through.

His fists were clenched in anger, his voice was full of hatred and yet undertones of exasperation as he spoke to a much older and frailer looking man who sat behind a desk opposite him.

"Alex. I would appreciate it if you would kindly keep your voice down." The superior said calmly.

The boy slammed his hands down on the table in fury. "No! I am not doing anything for you again. Not after last time." At the last sentence his voice seemed to trail off into a tone no louder than a whisper.

At this outburst, the man behind the desk stood up sharply, rising above Alex who was bent over the table. "Alex!" He paused to compose himself. "Sit down." He added in an eerily low voice.

Seeing the more authorial figure loose his calm, Alex seemed to swallow his pride and reclaimed his seat. Once seated the man sunk slowly back into his own chair, his back remaining ram-rod straight as he looked at Alex trying to figure a way to crack his tough outer shell.

Eventually, the superior spoke again. "I know the events of the iTec mission hurt you Alex-"

"Stop Blunt! Just stop…before you go too far." Alex whispered in a voice devoid of any emotion.

"Look Alex. It's been almost a year now. I know your and Miss. Windsor were close-"

"-You don't know anything!" Alex shouted, his eyes starting to glisten with excess moisture. "You don't know anything…I'd rather not discuss it with you, or anyone for that matter. You called me in here because you wanted me to go undercover for you, well my answer is 'no'. So I'm leaving."

"Really? Are you sure that's your final answer?" Alan Blunt raised a curious eyebrow over the rims of his glasses.

From where Alex had been about to make his way to the door he paused and turned back to face Mr. Blunt. "Positive."

"Very well then. Veronica, could you give Alex Ms. Starbright's papers." Alan Blunt's eyes still remained focussed on Alex.

"Jack's papers?" Alex glared at him in question.

"Well yes Alex. Don't you remember? It was about two years ago we told you her visa had run out. Those are her deportation papers." Alan Blunt said casually whilst stirring his tea three swirls clockwise then three anticlockwise.

Alex pursed his lips and rolled his eyes in mockery. "Ahh! Here comes the good old blackmail. Well it's not going to work. Have Jack deported. I'll go with her and then we can get her visa sorted out in the states."

"I'd like to see you pay for your ticket considering we control your money." Alan Blunt replied raising his cup to his grey lips.

Alex's eyes widened in shock and he fought to keep calm. However, he failed and punched the doorframe. He gritted his teeth as firm as he could before turning back to face Blunt.

He walked over to Blunt's fireplace, placing one arm out and resting on the wall he dropped the envelope into the fire with the other. He watched as the paper wrinkled and danced in the heat as it turned to ashes, the reflection of the amber glow lighting up his stern features.

"I don't understand how you get agents like Bond to agree to this crap." Alex muttered before looking out of the corner of his eye at Blunt.

"That is a topic you and 007 can discuss between yourselves if you ever run into him." Blunt replied as he set his cup back down on the saucer. "Well? What is your answer?"

Alex exhaled and dropped his head whilst shaking it. Closing his eyes he uttered his response in a tired and nonchalant tone that made him seem like he couldn't care to argue anymore.

"What do I have to do?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **All the places mentioned in Thailand are real. I've been there myself a lot of times and half my family are Thai so I thought I'd base it in Thailand. Also:

**SPOILER FOR SNAKEHEAD**  
_Alex goes on a mission in Thailand in Snakehead so I thought hey why not._

**Chapter 2**

"So you want me to jet off to Thailand to stop this Chinese gang kidnapping teenage girls and smuggling them out of the country to be prostitutes?" Alex confirmed with an eyebrow raised in question. "Oh and find the counterfeit money they are also shipping out of the country?"

"That's the general gist of the mission." Answered Blunt swiftly.

Alex shrugged. "Sounds simple enough. Or is there something else I need to know?" He added cautiously.

"Only that the Vipers gang is more dangerous than the Chinese Triads. But you'll be able to handle them. Now first things first. You will be posing as a young photographer who is going to be photographing a big event the Vipers are holding at the luxurious five star Amari Watergate Hotel & Spa in Bangkok central. It is located near the airport and opposite the Platinum Plaza shopping mall where the gang have their hideout disguised as a shop."

"Only more dangerous than the Triads? Nothing major then." Alex said sarcastically as he flicked through his travel documents.

"We have complete confidence in your skills Alex." Blunt replied in a flat tone which suggested he could not care less for Alex's skills.

Alex frowned. "I can see that."

"Yes well. Now that you have been briefed, you need to go down to the arsenal to meet Smithers. He will give you your weapons and gadgets." Blunt cleared his throat as he flicked the hologram off.

"Right, wait. No hug goodbye?" Joked Alex though he soon fell serious again under the blank stare Blunt gave him. "Never mind."

Alex left the office making his way down the all too familiar corridors of MI6 headquarters. He really did know this place too well.

He entered the glass elevator and made his descent to the underground levels where the arsenal of weapons, gadgets and vehicles were.

"Alex Rider. Back in my lab, I didn't think you'd return here again." Jolly Smithers came into the weapons room where Alex was stood with a half hearted smile on his face. The lab technician couldn't help but make Alex smile whenever he saw him; he was just so full of energy and excitement.

Alex pursed his lips together and cocked his eyebrows. "Well neither did I but good old MI6 and their blackmail always manage to reel me back in here."

Smithers was silent for a moment before quickly changing the subject. "Anyway, for your latest assignment in Thailand – did you know Thailand is the only south-east Asian country to never have been ruled by a western power? – Sorry! I'll get back on topic now. Yes, as I was saying, your weapons." Pressing a small fingerprint sensitive button on the desk, the glass flipped over to reveal a table top full of everyday objects.

Alex's eyes widened as he saw one particular object. "Is that…?"

"A Walther PPK." Smithers replied proudly. "Blunt's granting you license to kill. Considering the danger the Vipers pose."

"What?" Alex exclaimed sounding thoroughly shocked. "He can have it back. I don't want it."

Smithers looked confused. "But I thought you had killed many a time before?"

"By accident." Alex replied defiantly.

"But I heard you shot Valerie Pine, or was that just a rumour?"

Alex fell silent and looked at the ground. "No, that wasn't a rumour"

Seeing Alex did not want to press the matter, Smithers picked up another item. "Well if you don't want to use that I could always give you this…"

Alex looked up expecting to see Smithers holding up some weird gadget; instead he was holding another gun.

Smithers answered Alex's questioning look. "It's a modified Walther PPK, designed to fire tranquilizer darts. The darts are known as blood splatter darts. They carry a highly potent tranquilizer effective up to 48 hours."

Alex relaxed a little. "That's the type of gun I wouldn't feel guilty about firing."

"The best bit about the type of dart used I, as their name suggests, they give the effect of blood splatter around the wound so it appears the victim has indeed been shot."

"You never cease to amaze Smithers." Alex smiled as he took hold of the gun.

Smithers smiled in a smug sort of way. "Well…next up is your iPod, which turns into a satellite tracking system for this little guy."

Showing Alex the black iPod video, the weapons master also handed him a tiny lapel pin. "Effective in a 500 mile radius."

"OK. What about my photography set?" Alex asked looking at the state of the art camera equipment on the table.

"Ah ha! My pride and joy." Smithers answered, "The camera is very handy for this mission considering you are posing as a photographer. It has a 16 times optical zoon and is digital with 15 million mega pixel definition." Smithers took a breath before continuing. "And now to the good bits: built in x-ray technology enabling you to see through materials up to 30 inches thick, a retinal scanner and DNA analyser, fingerprint identification system that allows you to scan and copy fingerprints, and the camera is excellent for storing evidence in the hidden compartment beside the battery pocket."

"X-ray vision? Seriously?" Alex perked at the words. "Can I keep it once the missions over?"

"Smithers smiled and nodded before falling serious. "No." he said simply causing Alex to deflate. "Nice try though."

"Right, I have: gun, iPod, camera…what else?"

Smithers handed him a packet of chewing gum. "Mint freshness. Also an explosive paste once malleable, which can be triggered by your watch. An Omega, black, waterproof up to depths of 800m, also has a built in laser to cut through any material."

Hearing the list of gadgets, Alex had to say, he was thoroughly impressed.

"Now." Smithers handed Alex two memory discs for the camera. "This silver memory disc is just a basic memory card with 10GB capacity. This gold one however matches photo's of people and objects you think are suspicious to people and objects on MI6's database. Should you be unsure of anything or anyone, take a picture and it will match in a flash." Smithers chuckled to himself at his little joke. Alex however just smirked and shook his head.

The teenager then began placing the objects carefully into his camera bag that had a concealed compartment inside specifically designed to carry his gun through the scanner at the airport.

"Now that you're all set I guess there's only these left to give you." Smithers pulled out a wallet, a passport and an airline ticket from his lab coat pocket. "You're first class ticket to Bangkok, Your credit card with a £15,000 limit, and you're new MI6 issue passport. Should get you out of any sticky situation with the authorities."

A wide smile crossed Alex's features. "£15,000 and First class?"

"Thai Airways Royal First Class to be more specific. Have a good time Agent Rider." Bidding farewell to Alex, Smithers hit a button and the floor under Alex's feet began rising.

A few minutes later Alex was stood in the car park with his Aston Martin DB9 Volante in front of him, or so he thought.

"Alex Rider?" A suave voice from inside the vehicle filled Alex's ears as the window lowered a little.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"I'm taking you to the airport. The name's Bond…James Bond."

"Alex suddenly felt very unstable, he felt like all the air had been knocked out of his as that name reached his ears.

Alex opened, almost yanked, the door to come face to face with a dark haired, muscular man sat behind the wheel, he oozed charm and charisma with one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on the gear stick.

Sitting in the car as they approached Heathrow Airport was very intimidating for Alex, sat next to the experienced older agent.

"Thailand? Great place." Bond spoke coolly as he drove. "I remember a Thai girl I met once.

Alex had to suppress a grin as he could tell that when Bond said 'met' he meant 'slept with'. "I'm guessing you haven't been reduced to babysitter, so why are you heading to airport?"

Bond had a charming smile on his face. "If I told you that I'd have to kill you."

Alex was taken aback by the statement and how easily bond had delivered it.

"In that case I'd rather not know." Alex said as they came to a halt outside Terminal 3.

"Here you are Alex. You know something, you really are a lot like your father and your uncle." Bond said unexpectedly causing Alex to snap his head around to look at him. "And I'm sorry about what happened to Agent Windsor."

_How the hell does he know this stuff? _Alex thought somewhat shocked at what Bond was saying to him.

"Take care of yourself Alex. And a word of advice from me, trust no one." Bond's last statement stayed with Alex even after the Aston Martin had drove off and disappeared in the throng of cars trying to get out of the terminal.

Alex could scarcely believe that he had just spent a car journey with of the most respected and feared agents in the world. Who up until that point Alex had thought was fictional.

Though it was hard, Alex shook Bond and his comments about his uncle and father from his mind and made his way through the revolving doors into the check-in area.

Alex wheeled his suitcase of MI6 provided clothes to the first class desk of the Thai airways area. There he could get rid of it and proceed straight through to the duty free section and grab some coffee or an energy drink to wake him up.

"Sawasdee sir, welcome to Thai Airways Royal Silk Class check-in." Alex smiled in return to the stewardess behind the counter. She was Thai and she also placed her hands together and bowed her head as a sign of 'hello'.

"Hi. I'm on the 16:30 non-stop flight to Bangkok. The name is Rider." Alex informed her.

"Very well sir. May I see your ticket and passport please?"

"Sure." Alex handed her the required documents that MI6 had provided him with.

"OK. You're the first to check-in for this flight sir. Would you like a window seat or an aisle seat?" The stewardess asked.

"Umm. A window seat would be great." Alex answered.

"Very well sir. All your details are on your boarding card." The stewardess handed him back his documents and also his boarding card. "Do enjoy your flight."

"Thank you. I'm sure I will." Alex smiled and made his way towards the duty free section. He still had a good hour until boarding would begin so he needed something to keep him occupied until then.

It was as he was passing the perfume shop that he did a double take to look at the teenager purchasing an item. He shook his head and looked back up, but by the time he had composed himself she was gone. However, she did bare a striking resemblance to Elissa Windsor.

Dismissing it as a trick of the light or tiredness, Alex sat down in a café near the walkway leading to the first class lounge.

"One black coffee with one sugar please." He said to the waiter and handed him the money as he sat down at the bar.

Whilst he was waiting he watched the crowd go by, reminiscing about a time when sitting in an airport café with Ian Rider would have been an innocent affair.

"Your coffee sir." Crashing back to reality Alex turned and thanked the bartender before spacing out again.

Forty minutes later Alex began making his way towards the boarding gate. He had never flown by first class before so was not sure about what to expect.

However, what he did see, impressed.

A glass of champagne on arrival and also a complementary newspaper. And not those cheap ones they usually set aside for you to grab quickly before you got on the plane. Also, frosted on the glass behind the boarding desk was 'Sawasdee'. This was Thai for 'Hello'.

"Welcome to the first class lounge sir. Please proceed to boarding." The stewardess directed him to the desk. "Enjoy your flight."

"Thank you." Alex replied politely.

He made his way to the steward and joined the queue behind an older woman who appeared to be in her late twenties.

"Welcome back Miss. Knight. Please enjoy your flight." The steward smiled as Miss. Knight made her way down the boarding tunnel. "Good day sir."

"Hello." Alex handed him his passport and boarding card and waited whilst the steward checked his photo and his face.

"Please enjoy your flight Mr. Rider." The steward handed him back his documents and bid him farewell.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Ladies and gentlemen we are now approaching Bangkok Airport. It is 21:30 local time and the temperature outside is 35 degrees Celsius. We ask you to return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Please ensure your seats are in the upright position and that all footrests and tables are folded away. Also please place your bags either in the overhead lockers or under the seat. Thank you." The intercom cut out and the seatbelt sign lit up.

Alex straightened his seat and buckled his belt, opening the shutter on his window he could see the lights of the city illuminating the ground. His first experience of the life first class passengers led was mind blowing, one could forget one was on a plane. Instead maybe a flying hotel suite.

He usually didn't sleep on planes as it was far too uncomfortable and being quite tall he found that on most planes there was very little legroom in economy. However, Thai Airways Royal Silk class allowed him to recline his seat to a straight 180 degrees and for the first time he had slept for a good five and a half hours.

He adjusted the time on his watch to Bangkok time and rested his head on his fist for a moment. Maybe this luxury treatment was part of MI6's blackmail, keep him happy until the real seriousness of the mission began. He would hardly say the government threw money away on allowing their agents to fly first class for nothing, they already had to worry about the enormous sum of money the 2012 Olympics were going to cost them and the tax payers.

"Excuse me sir. The captain told me to give you this letter when we begin making our descent." Alex turned to see an air stewardess holding a brown paper envelope with 'Royal & General Bank' emblazoned on the top left hand corner.

"Thank you." Alex said as he took the letter from her and she made her way to the seats at the back of the first class seating area.

He made sure no one could overlook him before he opened it and read the paper carefully.

According to it, he would be staying at the Amari Watergate Hotel as well as attending the party the Vipers were holding. A Black Mercedes AMG SL50 would collect him at the airport, the driver would be standing outside the passenger door with a black chauffeur hat, with three gold bands running along the visor. Also emblazoned on the driver and front passenger door would be R&G in gold cursive writing to help him identify the correct vehicle. Just in case of the unlikely situation where there could be a whole selection of black Mercedes parked in the collection zone, all of which happening to have a driver waiting with three gold stripes on his visor. Just to be on the safe side.

The luxuries of the mission kept getting better and better. However, Alex had a feeling that somehow, these luxuries were masking a darker side to the mission.

"Excuse me?" Alex turned to see the flaxen haired teenager; she was roughly his age, sitting next to him leaning towards him on her arm rest. "Sorry could you pick my ring up for me please? It's just by your seat."

Alex looked down to see a large pink diamond ring on the floor by his seat. If he were to guess he would say it was roughly five carats in weight and on a 24ct gold band. "Here you go."

"Thank you. My fiancé would have killed me if I'd lost that ring." She smiled as she placed it back on her ring finger and leant back against her seat again as they approached the runway.

Alex had to say if he'd bought anyone a ring that expensive looking then he would have wanted to kill them too if they'd lost it. But then again how someone could be his age and engaged already was a mystery. Alex pondered this thought for a moment thinking maybe she looked younger than she actually was.

As the plane came into contact with the runway there was a hard bump that shook Alex in his seat a bit before the plane slowed down to park in its designated bay.

He soon saw they had stopped moving and the seatbelt sign bulb dimmed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen this is your captain speaking. On behalf of the crew and I; we wish you a pleasant stay in Thailand and hope you fly with us again soon. The time now is 21:45 local time and the outside temperature is 38 degrees Celsius. Thank you for flying with Thai Airways."

Alex unfastened his seatbelt and stood up before slinging his camera bag strap over his head.

The woman who had asked him to pick her ring up was now stood next to him as they waited to disembark the plane. Alex noticed that she extremely attractive, there was no way that she was his age; she had to be older, even if it was by a few years.

She was about an inch taller than him due to the very high heels she was wearing; they alone were at least three inches high.

However, it was as she slipped her designer sunglass onto her head that Alex noticed a back hairline just behind her ear. Was it dyed that colour? Or was it a wig? Alex thought about it for a moment not noticing she had already left and so had most of the other passengers. He brought himself back to reality and made his way off the plane, bidding farewell to the stewards and the stewardess's who had tended the first class cabin.

His next stop was passport control and then baggage collection, and then he was off to find the chauffeur and his ride to hotel.

It was as he was coming up to passport control he saw the four enormous queues, every passenger waiting to get through.

Luckily enough, he saw the first class line and hurried to it so he could get to the hotel and get ready for the event; he had roughly an hour to do everything in. The event began at 11:30 and he needed to get to his room at the hotel to shower and get his suit.

It didn't take him long to get through passport control and before he knew it his suitcase had slid onto the conveyor belt. He lifted it up and pulled the handle up to wheel it out.

He walked into the arrivals hall and saw the many people awaiting their friends, family or colleagues to arrive. He wasn't expecting anyone to be waiting for him inside so he made his way out of the air conditioned airport and felt the thick, humid Bangkok air wrap itself around him as soon as he made it outside.

Staying where he was, he took a moment to search for the black Mercedes he had been told to look for. He spotted it almost instantly; the driver leant on the door clearly tired of waiting for him. The door had the 'R&G' crest on the door just like the letter had said and the driver had three gold stripes on his visor.

Wheeling his suitcase down the concrete ramp and around the trolley park he made his way over to the driver.

"The Royal & General Bank sent you I take it?" Alex said as he reached the car.

"With the complements of Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones," The driver replied as he took Alex's suitcase and placed it in the trunk of the car.

Alex climbed into the back seat and was cooled by the cool air blowing from the fans on the dashboard.

The chauffeur had soon started the engine and locked all the doors. He made his way into the jam packed Bangkok traffic that was making it's way down the road which lead under the flyover.

"We should arrive at the hotel in forty-five minutes to an hour." The driver said as he quickly turned into a free space in the lane beside them.

"That long? I thought the hotel was nearby?" Alex said sounding surprised.

The driver let out a chuckle. "Is this your first time in Thailand by any chance?"

"Yes. Why?"

The driver nodded knowingly. "I can tell. You see the traffic outside; see how it's choc-a-block? It's always like this. It's like rush hour in London on twice as bad."

Alex's eyes widened as he saw the line of cars lined up under the flyover.

"Though once we make a u-turn on the flyover and start heading in the opposite direction it should be a lot clearer. It's just bad around this bit in particular because of the airport. However, if you're planning to do any travelling I suggest you take a motorbike. That way you can drive like most of the locals do on motorbikes and weave in and out of cars, it gets you to places quicker."

"Thanks, I'll bear that in mind." Alex said as he rested his head on the neck support on the seat.

It wasn't long before he was asleep again, his head resting on the window instead.

"Mr. Rider? Time to wake-up, we're at the Amari."

The voice was a distant whisper to Alex and he did not wake immediately, it was only when the driver closed the boot and caused the car the shake that Alex's eyes flickered for a moment before he managed to decipher the large gold lettering above the glass walls and doors of the lobby. _Amari Watergate Hotel & Spa, _it read and Alex came to his senses and stepped out of the car.

A doorman had already come out with baggage trolley and had his suitcase on it awaiting him to get out of the car.

"I'll see you again Mr. Rider. Have fun." The chauffeur rolled his window up and drove away leaving Alex alone with the doorman holding the door open for him.

"Sorry. Thank you." Alex pulled himself together and made his way inside, the doorman behind him, carrying his suitcase. Alex made his way to the check-in desk and saw the same woman who had been sitting next to him on the plane checking in at the desk next to his. Something told him he'd be seeing a lot of her in future.

"Welcome to the Amari Watergate Hotel & Spa sir. Are you checking in?" The receptionist smiled politely, a Thai accent lacing her otherwise very clear English.

"Yes. The reservation is under Rider." Alex answered taking in his immensely luxurious surroundings.

"Welcome Mr. Rider. You have one of our deluxe rooms. It's Room 115." The receptionist handed him his room key, it was a gold card with Amari in silver writing on the front. "Breakfast is served from 7 until 11:30 and room service is available 24 hours a day seven days a week."

"Thank you. I'm also here for a party this evening, it's being held in the bar and lounge and I'd just like to confirm that the start time is 11:30?" Alex double-checked as he slid his key into the pocket in his shirt.

"Yes the party commences at 11:30 tonight. Just show the doorman your invitation and hotel key and you'll be admitted straight away." The receptionist replied before bidding Alex goodbye.

Alex tipped the doorman who was still carrying his suitcase and made his way to the elevator. He saw the panel of floor numbers and saw that rooms 100-150 were on the third floor. Pressing the button he soon began to make his ascent and within a few minutes there was cool feminine voice inside the elevator announcing he had reached the third floor.

He wheeled his suitcase down the hall seeing a few other guests as he did so. Reaching the door with the gold numbers 115 above the spy-hole he slotted his card into the lock and awaited the light to turn green. Taking his key out and pressing down on the handle Alex let himself in and closed and chained the door behind him.

He let out a long breath and inhaled again as he saw his room.

Tranquil lighting picked up an impeccably made bed which faced the window that was partially concealed behind some silk curtains. In front of the window was a brilliant white sofa and glass coffee table on a hearth rug with a vase of flowers on it.

Then beside that was a dresser with a widescreen television on it and also another arm chair opposite the bedside table, which was next to the door to the en-suite.

"I could get used to this." Alex smiled to himself as he wheeled his suitcase to the other side of the room and picked up a suit-bag which had been delivered ahead of him to his room.

Straightening his tie in the mirror half an hour later Alex was just about ready to go hit the party.

Looping his camera bag over his head he picked up his invitation and hotel key before slotting them in his breast pocket and exiting his hotel room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As Alex approached the club that had been rented out to the Vipers for the night, Alex could already hear the music pumping from the speakers. Considering it was a black tie event, Alex was surprised to hear clubbing music playing. But then again, he had read that the Vipers liked to party and owned a string of nightclubs throughout the Bangkok region. Alex took a moment to observe the entrance and exit. There were two extremely large and well muscled doorman guarding the only door, both were checking invitations carefully and cross checking them against the names and pictures on the guest list.

Alex took a deep breath and made his way forward with a business like smile on his face. "Hi guys. Alex Rider, the photographer." He handed them his invitation and waited for a moment.

The doorman he handed it to looked at him for a moment and compared the photo on the list to Alex. It was just like being back at the airport all over again.

"You're ok. Enjoy your evening." They allowed him through and Alex was soon hit by the glamour of the event.

There were cocktail waitresses everywhere with hors d'oeuvres and champagne flutes. Declining a glass form one of the waitresses Alex instead made his way through the crowd. Men dressed in suits like him and women in very elegant dresses. Alex felt like he was living Bond's lifestyle, the whole atmosphere felt like a Bond movie.

Alex soon spotted the Vipers in a corner of the club on a set of sofas with girls on each arm. I was then that he spotted the same woman form the plane. However, she now had black hair. He was right, it had been a wig, her hair was naturally elbow length with long layers and a thin layered in side fringe which swept across her face gently. As Alex got closer he also saw that she had blue eyes now instead of the green ones he had seen on the plane. Whether her eyes were green or blue naturally he didn't know, but he guessed he would find out soon enough.

Alex made his way to the corner and saw a few men prepared to stand up and throw him out. However, the head of the Vipers – Elliot Havant – stopped them. "Relax guys it's just our photographer." He was obviously not Asian. He didn't even look mixed race. He appeared to be in his early twenties and spoke with what sounded like an Australian accent and stood up, towering over Alex slightly. "Welcome. What's your name?" He stuck his hand out and shook Alex's firmly.

"Alex, Alex Rider." He answered as he regained the feeling in his fingers.

"Well Alex, enjoy the party. Go ahead and get pictures of us whenever you want. Hey Adrianna are you dancing?" He paused and the girl he had sat next to on the flight stood up.

"Hell yeah I am." She answered as she stood up. Alex could see that she'd shrunk slightly since the last time he saw her. She was now shorter than him even in the heels she was wearing. Although, she still looked as good as she did on the plane, she wore a knee length black dress that dipped slightly low in the front with a gold and diamond chain holding the front of the dress together whereas the back finished three inches above he base of her spine.

"Alex why don't you leave your camera and crap here and come and dance?" Elliot said as the rest of them began to leave the corner into the main club where most of the people where now dancing.

"That's ok I'll just get the pictures." Alex declined politely.

"Hey suit yourself, but if you change your mind just holler and we'll get you a girl." Elliot followed the other out into the club and soon found Adrianna.

_She can't be his fiancée, she's way too young. _Alex thought as he saw the pair dancing. However unless Adrianna was cheating on her fiancé then maybe the two were engaged. He saw Adrianna look at him over Elliot's shoulder but she quickly looked away again. It was just then that he realised he had seen her before the he saw her on the plane. She was the teenager he had mistaken for Elissa in the queue when he was on his way to get a coffee. He needed a picture of her to get confirmed against MI6's database.

However, he decided that would come later and instead he looked around he seating area that the Viper's had been sitting in to see if there was anything that might give him a clue as to what he was up against. The white trail of powder, which looked remarkably like cocaine and the syringes with told Alex all he needed to know. Drug addicts.

Alex also saw a laptop on the table. Maybe it had a clue as to where their main point of operations was. However, Alex saw that it was password sensitive. Instead he left the corner and made his way towards the bar instead.

"What can I get you?" The barman said loudly over the music.

"Just a coke will do." Alex replied as he perched on a stool and took pictures. He quickly changed the memory card t the gold so that he could get read to get information on some of the unknown faces. Just as he had done that he heard Adrianna's voice behind him.

"Can I get an apple Bacardi breezer?" He heard her order and soon he heard a bottle being placed on the bar. "Cheers."

This was the perfect opportunity to get a picture and get it checked over by MI6's database. "Hey again. You sure do have many different hairstyles. And eye colours too."

Adrianna put her bottle down and looked at him questioningly. "Adrianna Celine Monroe." She stuck her hand out and shook Alex's. "The wigs and contacts are something Elliot makes me wear when I travel. This is the real me."

"Alex-"

"-Rider. The photographer." She finished. "I was listening back there."

"Alright then. Then you won't mind if I get a picture of you?"

"Knock yourself out." Adrianna replied and smiled; however as soon as the flash had gone off she had disappeared back into the crowd.

"Thank you Miss. Monroe." Alex muttered to himself. Soon a loading bar shot across the screen of the camera before the MI6 logo came up. However, as soon as the picture of Adrianna came up beside her blank basics spaces a red box flashed in the middle of the screen. _Higher level clearance required._ Alex frowned. She was only the leader's fiancé, what could be on her file that would require a higher level clearance? Switching memory cards again Alex looked at the people in the crowd. He saw the Viper's had returned to their corner and a few were sniffing the cocaine whilst Elliot looked frustrated with his laptop. Alex decided to find out what was happening and his excuse would be that he wanted some pictures of them.

Pushing his way through the crowd he finally made it to their seating area.

"Hi. Do you mind if I get some shots of you guys together?"

"Get lost kid. Can't you see I'm busy?" Elliot's tone of voice had dramatically changed from the one he had been greeted with earlier. "Now unless you're some computer whiz then get your ass out of here."

"Well I work with computers all the time. Do you want me to take a look?" Alex answered seizing the opportunity to look at their private files.

Havant looked at him for a moment before spinning the laptop round to face him. Crouching down and looking at the screen Alex could see that it was just a case of a system reboot. Typing away at the controls and scrolling through the menus on the laptop Alex spun it back around again and showed him the now cooperating screen.

Havant looked at him as if to say 'How the hell did you do that?'

"It happens all the time with our photography software. Though it usually only happens when we try and send major files to another country's email address." Alex replied as he hinted that Havant might have been sending files on his illegal trafficking circle to another country.

"Thanks for your help. You can leave now." Adrianna said bluntly as she took the laptop.

"You know what Adrianna. He seems to know more about computers than you do. We could use someone like him." Elliot said to her as he took the laptop back off her and handed it to Alex. "How about giving us a hand?"

Seeing the opportunity to get in on the organisation Alex nodded quickly. "What do you need doing?"

Elliot pushed the laptop back towards him again. "You see the file transfer on the right hand side? It's not cooperating for some reason. See if you can get it to continue transferring. Adrianna here has been tapping away at it for a while now and still nothing has happened. The only problem s she triggered a shutdown of the file, which we don't want because it means that I have to fly to America to get the activation codes again. So you basically have four and a half minutes to get it to continue transferring." Havant answered. "See what you can do."

Alex had been working with computers a lot recently, he had got a part time job working with a computer software company in London and had learned quite a lot form it. Another skill for MI6 to add to their ever expanding biography on him.

Alex worked quickly typing in commands into the transfer system, not asking questions as he did so, he glanced at the timer every so often to check he still had enough time, before continuing entering data to the computer.

So far it had taken him three minutes; he still had a minute and a half left to get the file transferring again. Then maybe he could get inside heir gang, he could imagine the reaction on Blunt's face if he reported to him that he'd become a member of the Vipers, all thanks to a little glitch in their computer.

He could also imagine the amount of times that Blunt would probably want to use him again in future because of that little skill.

Shaking his head Alex held down on the final button with twenty-three seconds left on the clock. He rubbed his eyes from staring at the screen so hard and spun the laptop back towards Elliot. A sadistic smile formed on his face as he saw the file coming to the final few stages of its transfer.

"Excellent." Elliot said. "Well Mr. Rider, I think you've just found your new profession."

Adrianna suddenly looked very annoyed and shot a glass of what could have been vodka before pulling out another apple Bacardi breezer.

"Come on now Adrianna. You're still going to have you uses to us." Elliot replied as he pressed his lips against hers. Alex noticed how she reluctantly responded, but that may have been because she was pissed with Alex for somehow taking her job.

"So Mr. Rider. I think you deserve a drink." Elliot congratulated him. "Ever had Absinth?"

"If you mean the strongest alcohol apart from pure ethanol? Then no. But my mates have told me about it and told me how to drink it." Alex questioned.

"You know your drinks." Elliot replied looking impressed as he took half a shot. He handed Alex the bottle and a shot glass before he sniffed some cocaine.

Adrianna watched Alex curiously to see if he really did know how to drink if he'd never had it before. And just as she expected he shot a whole shot glass without burning it with sugar. She smirked as she saw him try and suppress a retching motion.

"Yeah, because you knew what you were doing Mr. Tough guy." Adrianna took hold of the bottle and glass before pulling out a lighter. She poured the drink into the glass but only so that it was half full before she burnt a sugar cube into the drink. "There. Now shot it." She said as she pushed the glass towards him using her lighter.

"No thanks. You take it." Alex answered as he coughed.

"I don't drink anything stronger than a shot of vodka." Adrianna answered.

"My ass says you don't." Said Alex as he took hold of the glass gingerly, suddenly realising why she had used a lighter to push it towards him, the glass almost burnt his fingertips. He decided to get it over with and quickly shot the hot liquid. Burning his bottom lip in the process.

"You know for a guy whose mates apparently told him what to do; you certainly don't know how to do a flaming shot." Adrianna said.

However, two shots of the drink had gone to Alex's head and he felt like his head was pulsating.

"Hey Elliot. The drink's caught up with him." One of the Vipers gestured to Alex who was staggering to his feet.

"I'm not surprised. You get wasted on half. He's had two." Adrianna interrupted.

"Rhia. Take him to his room. Wherever it is." Elliot said as he continued with his drugs.

Adrianna stood up and pulled one of Alex's arms over her shoulder before helping him to his feet.

Helping him through the crowd she finally made it to door. The doormen, seeing who it was quickly let her pass before resuming their positions.

"You know I can make it to my room by myself." Alex said as he slurred his words.

"I will give you a million pounds to walk in a straight line right now." Adrianna said as she let go of him. Alex soon drifted towards the wall then back towards the other wall before sliding down it.

"I think that just proved you wrong." Adrianna replied as she pulled him back to his feet.

"How old are you anyway? You can't be old enough to be marrying that Havant guy." Alex continued mumbling.

"I'm old enough to marry with consent. That's 16 for the completely trashed ones here. And you're going to forget I told you that in the next few minutes so I don't know why I bothered telling you that." Adrianna replied as she searched his pockets for a room key. She soon found it. "115. Ok, so that's the…third floor." Adrianna said as she hit the button. For the elevator.

Soon she was helping Alex stagger down the hallway. "Here we are. 115." Adrianna said triumphantly as she slotted the card into the slot. "Christ's sake, don't collapse on me now. God! How much do you weigh?"

"Hey! It's muscle lady." Alex answered indignantly.

Adrianna raised an eyebrow as she removed the key from the slot and closed the door. "Yeah. I bet it is." She helped him to sit on the bed before pouring him a glass of water. "Drink it. It'll help with the hangover your going to get. And Elliot will want you alert tomorrow when you meet with him again."

Alex took it and drank it in one. "Yes doctor." He answered sounding very much unlike his usual self.

"Ha, ha, ha. Everyone's a comedian." Adrianna laughed sarcastically. "Go on drink some more. You're going to have to drink at least a litre. And I'm not having Elliot blame me for another mistake."

Alex soon began to feel his eyes get very heavy and leant back on his pillows after his tenth glass of water. He could hear Adrianna's voice in the distance telling him something but he couldn't quite make it out. All he wanted to do was sleep. And nothing was going to stop him.

"Great." Adrianna sighed. "Now I'm going to have to get you changed as well. Pratt."

She took his camera bag off and laid it on the table before removing his suit jacket and shoes. She then began undressing him. She paused as she took off his shirt. He was right it really was muscle. She shook her head and lifted him to standing so tat he was leaning on her before she pulled back the covers and let him lie down again before she covered him over.

Elliot probably wasn't going to get back in until dawn so she pulled one of the sheets off of the bed and made her way into the bathroom. She saw one of the bathrobes and changed into it before removing her shoes and making her way towards the sofa by the window. She got rid of most of the cushions, only keeping two before laying her dress across the table and placing her shoes on the floor beside it. She then flicked the lights off before falling asleep herself.

Alex awoke to the most painful headache he had ever felt. Not even being knocked unconscious felt this bad afterwards. He opened his eyes slowly and raised his watch wrist in front of him. 12:30pm.

"That was a rough party." He murmured as he swung his legs off of the bed and allowed his eyes to accustom to the light of day.

It was then that he saw the dress, ladies underwear and shoes. His eyes widened as he suddenly heard water moving. He stood up slowly and made his way to the bathroom door, pushing it open slowly he saw that it was Adrianna who was in the bathtub. Thankfully concealed behind a multitude of soap bubbles.

"Oh jeez!" He quickly turned around and faced the other direction.

"And good morning to you too." Adrianna replied as she looked at him undisturbed. "Oh come on, unless you're wearing x-ray contact lenses or something I doubt you can see me. Pull yourself together."

_No but I do have an x-ray camera. _"Err…what are you doing in here?"

"Making sure that Elliot's new computer whiz didn't do anything stupid whilst he was still hung over." Adrianna answered simply.

"Hang on. You spent the night?" Alex said sounding alarmed. "What happened? Why am I undressed?"

"Oh well you see you pushed me into bed then undressed yourself then we slept together." Adrianna said sounding serious. She then raised an eyebrow. "Nothing happened. I undressed you so you didn't end up choking on your bow tie."

"Oh…right…err…thanks." Alex replied. "Umm I'm going to go get dressed."

"Hey. Pass me a towel before you leave." Adrianna said gesturing o the white fluffy towels on the heated rack behind him.

He picked one up and handed it to her. "Cheers." She replied and held it up before standing up behind it and wrapping it around her. She the pulled the plug and let her hair down.

Alex made his way back into the main hotel room and Adrianna soon appeared behind him. She picked up the bathrobe on the way and made a quick change allowing the towel to drop to the floor. She picked up the underwear and quickly pulled it on before slipping the bathrobe off and pulling her dress on.

Alex stood there not knowing which way to look, if he faced her he was watching and if he turned around he was facing a mirror so that it still looked like he was watching. Adrianna laughed. "Jeez. Lighten up Alex. If you're going to be working for Elliot now you're going to have to get used to skimpily clad women walking around the place."

Alex shook his head. "I'm gonna change in the bathroom." He said as he grabbed his suitcase and made his way back into the steamy room.

He could hear Adrianna chuckling to herself as he closed and locked the door. The night before was beginning to come back to him. He could remember taking a photo of Adrianna and needing higher level clearance to access her files. Which meant she was on the database and she was either extremely dangerous or an agent. But she couldn't have been an agent otherwise she would have known who Alex was. This meant Alex was going to have to watch himself around her, though it was going to be hard to watch anything except for her amazing body. It was like having another Elissa, but she hated him less and had an even more stunning body. _Whoa! Down boy. _He thought to himself quickly as he splashed his face with cold water before getting changed.

As soon as he was finished, Adrianna had disappeared. However, she had left a note. _Elliot wants to see you. The Penthouse Suite._ Alex folded the note up and put it in his pocket before grabbing his camera bag and putting all the gadgets he had in it and grabbing his room key to make his way to the elevator.

He wondered how much money Elliot must have made to have been able to afford the penthouse suite. Even the room he was staying in which was just a suite was still expensive.

The elevator car came to a stop outside the penthouse and he had to wait for someone on the inside to let him in. He heard a lock click and the doors opened to reveal what could only be described as pure luxury.

It was like the whole hotel had been rolled onto one floor. He could see many girls all in bikini's sunbathing on the 360 balcony which could be seen by the panoramic windows with white silk gauze slightly concealing the inside yet showing the outside clearly. He wondered why Adrianna had spent the night on his sofa when she could have been up here in 5 star luxuries.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Hey…Alex, welcome to my humble abode." Alex would hardly have called his abode 'humble' as Elliott had put it as he appeared from the bedroom wearing a pair of black trousers and a white shirt, which he had made look more casual by rolling the sleeves up to his elbow and unbuttoning the shirt slightly at the top and bottom.

Alex himself had changed into a pair of baggy, brown surf shorts and a light blue _Ripcurl _t-shirt; making him feel suddenly extremely unsophisticated compared to Elliot and his thugs.

"Hi." Alex said as he nodded and shook Elliot's hand.

Elliott examined his clothing carefully which Alex found odd. "Are you planning on hitting the beach or something Alex?"

Alex looked at his clothes with a raised eyebrow. "Umm, no…you know us photographers, whatever we can run around in easiest to get the best shots."

"Yes, but you work for me now. And you are going to need a new selection of clothes." Elliot laughed. "Rhia, your services are required!" He called as he leant his head towards the bedroom.

Adrianna appeared a few moments later. "Where do you want me to go and which wig do you want me to wear?" She said simply as she stood in the doorway wearing a figure hugging cream suit jacket and a matching form fitting skirt which finished a good five inches above her knees, she had one hand on her hip and the other holding a light brown and a red wig.

"No need for the wigs, you're gonna take Alex here and get him some new clothes…Take him to Siam Paragon or somewhere like that. Here get yourself something whilst you're there." Elliott said and handed her a credit card.

"You want me to be his mummy and take him clothes shopping?" Adrianna raised an eyebrow looking less than impressed.

"It's the least you could do after last night's cock up." Elliott answered.

Adrianna looked like she was sucking on lemons as she shook her head and threw the wigs back into the bedroom not caring where they landed before walking towards the door and grabbing a set of car keys and a handbag on the way, she turned and looked at Alex who hadn't moved.

"Well don't just stand there." She snapped as she entered the elevator, Alex removed himself from where he been glued and hurried after her.

The silence in the elevator was intoxicating; it would probably be possible to cut the tension with a knife.

Alex looked at the constantly changing numbers on the black screen in the elevator and prayed that they would descend faster. The shaft rattled to a stop and Alex expected the doors to open but when he looked out of the glass surrounding them there was no sign of the lobby. Instead there was a perfect view of the Bangkok skyline, illuminated in the misty light of the burning midday sun.

"I think the elevators broken down." Alex said as he pressed the alarm button on the panel, jabbing at it with his thumb time after time there was still no response and Alex didn't have a good feeling about this.

"Alex, no matter how many times you hit the button may I remind you that it will still send out the same signal." Adrianna said as she watched Alex stop and pause to think.

"I don't like this. Something's not right –" As if on cue the elevator plunged suddenly as if it were free falling down the shaft.

"What the hell is going on?" Adrianna exclaimed as she was thrown against the side of the elevator, the dull sound of her hip colliding with cold hard metal of the handrail.

"I don't know, I think the cables must have snapped or something." Alex replied as he looked up for an escape route. "We gotta get out of here, if we hit the bottom this thing will smash like….well….glass." Alex said as he propped himself up on the hand rail and punched his way through the service hatch in the ceiling. He pulled himself through quickly, offering Adrianna his hand but she was already climbing through on her own and was doing fine without assistance.

"OK, what now?" She asked but stopped as she looked up at the remaining cable. Removing her suit jacket she ripped off the sleeves and wrapped them around her hands hurriedly before handing Alex her jacket to grab the cable with. "Grab hold of the cable when we're fifteen metres from the bottom of the shaft." She shouted to him.

Alex frowned wondering how she knew how to do this, but having no time to question her orders he tore her jacket in two roughly equal sections and wrapped them round his hands.

Adrianna was looking down to see the bottom, her immaculate hair whipping wildly around her face. "3…2…1…Go! Grab the cable now!" She shrieked and held on tightly to support herself. Alex was just below her on the cable and held on with equal ferocity.

Below them, the elevator cart hit the giant springs at the bottom of the shaft but that wasn't enough to stop it smashing into hundreds of sections as it collided with the walls of the shaft with tremendous force. The deafening noise echoed through the shaft and shook the very fibres of their bodies as the swung dangerously on the cable above the bottom.

Alex began to slide down, lowering himself level with an alcove to the doorway which opened up onto the ground floor lobby. Adrianna must have seen what he planned to do as she slid down the cable and helped him gather momentum to swing them onto the ledge. Using the metal heel of Adrianna's shoe to prise open the doors they tumbled into the lobby and into the shocked stares of the guests and workers.

"Follow me." Adrianna whispered with a smile plastered across her face. "My moped is waiting out front; I have something to show you."

Alex didn't say anything he merely did as she said and the two walked out of the lobby doors as casually as possible; the doormen looked at them not knowing what to do for a moment or two but then realising who Adrianna was they quickly held the doors open and the valet handed Adrianna the keys to her sleek black and silver moped.

Adrianna slipped the helmet onto her head and handed Alex a spare from a box on the back; she hitched up her skirt slightly and braced the moped as she took out the kick stand.

"Get on…and hold on tight." Adrianna warned as she slid a leg over.

Alex raised a cynical eyebrow. "It's a moped that hasn't had the restriction removed; it has a max speed of thirty miles-per-hour."

Adrianna smirked. "Not this one."

Alex braced himself and held onto the back of the seat tightly but Adrianna moved his hands and placed them around her waist. "I said hold on tight."

He did as he was told and Adrianna removed he foot support before they were on their way, Alex hadn't been expecting the moped to take off so fast down the drive away from the hotel and onto the busy main roads of the city.

"The fastest way to get around Bangkok city is two do it on two wheels." Adrianna shouted over her shoulder as she weaved in and out of traffic somewhat dangerously.

"Somehow that information doesn't make me feel a whole lot better knowing this could be the last ride I take." He shouted back.

Adrianna laughed as she continued weaving until she reached a small market square near the river, slowing down she parked up and locked the bike up; before she did so however she opened the storage under the seat and pulled out a pair of jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a pair of trainers. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Alex nodded and sat on the bike as she disappeared into a public toilet cubicle to change her clothing. Re-emerging a few moments later – throwing her tarnished suit into a bin – wearing her new attire and beckoning for Alex to follow her.

She led him inside a wooden structured building which was a continuation of the outside market; however this market was enclosed so was more humid, more hectic and louder than outside.

The market was situated on the riverbank and above the river itself, the market doubled as a ferry port for the boat the made the river crossing; a large building on the opposite side of the river standing out in particular.

"That's the Siriraj Hospital; it's considered one of the best medical schools in the country. If you can get in there you are considered to be bloody good. It's the equivalent to Kings College or the Imperial College in London." Adrianna answered as she withdrew a wallet from her pocket and handed the ticket officer six baht for their fares and led Alex down into the waiting area for the next ferry to arrive.

"Where are you taking-" Alex began but Adrianna flashed him a dangerous look.

She looked around them before muttering under her breath. "Not here."

Alex nodded understandingly and fell silent keeping an eye on his surrounding, he could see the boat closing distance in the river and he estimated another five minutes maybe less and it would make port.

Men and women of all ages were sat around them fanning themselves in a loosing battle against the midday heat; he himself had beads of moisture forming on his forehead having not been used to the humidity. He knew he had been in countries with a worse humidity than this but it was the concentration of people in that area that made this worse.

"I should warn you, watch your pockets." Adrianna said as she kept an eye out around them. "Come on, the boat's here."

"Why does Havant let you walk around on your own? You must be an easy target." Alex had been wondering the answer to that question above most others. Another two important questions that had been playing on his mind was how did the elevator cables snap, and also who did Adrianna work for? After today he was willing to bet that she worked for the government.

"Let's just say I can take care of myself." Adrianna replied as she climbed onto the boat and looked around for a seat, spotting one perfectly near the back of the ferry.

"Rider is still alive, so is she." The unidentified voice reported quickly down the phone and was picked up at the other end on speakerphone as the recipient was sparking up a cigarette.

The smoker set his lighter down on the table. The initials 'E.H.' clearly engraved on the bottom of the solid gold lighter.

Elliott Havant was a man who couldn't stand the thought of his property being touched by others, and where Adrianna was concerned she was his property so fraternisation with any other man was forbidden.

Elliott smirked calmly as he exhaled the smoke. "Try, fail, try again, and fail better."


End file.
